The journey from shelter to home is a lot easier when the folks from Pilots N Paws step in. Instead of putting pups on long car rides to their future families, volunteers throughout the country offer to fly them wherever they need to go. And this two-minute video from HooplaHa captures the experience of one family receiving their own furry surprise in Sanford, Maine.

Under the pretense of picking up a “visitor,” a young boy and girl have been brought to the airport on a blustery day. Little did they know they were coming to meet their new best friend – a black Labrador. It’s easy to see the shock and joy in their faces when the sweet pup in placed in their arms. And that pet has taken a trip of just a couple of hours, rather than a journey of many days.

In coordination with New England Lab Rescue, Pilots N Paws has successfully placed more than 1,200 pets – that’s a lot of sky miles! As one of the pilots explains, many of the animals are coming from shelters where they wouldn’t have have had much of a chance, so seeing them find a soft spot to land is all the sweeter.